While the majority of students enter Cardozo in the Fall, Cardozo's innovative curriculum also allows students to enter in January or May.
January entry students finish law school in 2.5 years. They start in January, complete their first semester in May, and finish their first year in August. May entry students spread out their first year curriculum over 3 semesters-summer, fall and spring. Their second and third year are completed on a full-time basis, so they still finish law school in 3 years.
JANUARY ENTRY
Students who begin their legal studies in January complete their first semester in May and finish their first year of law school in August. Then, January students are integrated into the class that started the previous fall and continue in a traditional manner, graduating in two and one-half years after entering.
January-entry students take the following courses:
Spring Semester (15 credits)
- Elements of Law (2 credits)
- Torts (4 credits)
- Contracts (5 credits)
- Criminal Law (3 credits)
- Lawyering Skills and Legal Writing I (1 credits)
Summer Semester (15 credits)
- Constitutional Law (3 credits)
- Civil Procedure (5 credits)
- Property (5 credits)
- Lawyering Skills and Legal Writing II (2 credit)
Application Deadline
For priority consideration for admission to the class entering in January, please submit your application by December 1. We recommend students take the LSAT by September/October; however, we will also accept December LSAT scores.
MAY ENTRY
Students entering in May complete the first-year curriculum in three part-time semesters--summer, fall, and spring. Following the successful completion of the first-year curriculum, they finish their second and third years of law school as full-time students, graduating with the full-time students who started in the fall.
Annual tuition for the May part-time day program is equivalent to the tuition set for the fall full-time program. First-year tuition will be billed over the three semesters.
May-entry students take the following courses:
Summer Semester (10 credits)
- Contracts (5 credits)
- Criminal Law (3 credits)
- Elements of Law (2 credits)
Fall Semester (10 credits)
- Civil Procedure (5 credits)
- Torts (4 credits)
- Lawyering Skills and Legal Writing I (1 credit)
Spring Semester (10 credits)
- Property (5 credits)
- Constitutional Law (3 credits)
- Lawyering Skills and Legal Writing II (2 credits)
Application Deadline
Applications for the May-entry class should be submitted as soon as possible. The latest LSAT accepted is the February administration.
An applicant may only submit one application per academic year--i.e., an applicant may not submit an application for both January 2013 and Fall 2013 terms.
Alumni of the program say they thrived with smaller classes and individual attention by professors their first semester.
Watch video to hear more from Cardozo students who participated in the January and May Flexible Start Dates program.
If you'd like more information, email lawinfo@yu.edu.